Students in drama class spending a few quiets moments to get mentally focused for their next activity

Practicing Mindfulness- The challenges of being a middle school student are significant. The subtle (and not so subtle) messages relayed to adolescents through advertisements, the internet and sometime their peers to "fit in," dress or act in a certain way can lead to stress and loss of self esteem. Worries about doing well in school or meeting expectations also can be the cause of significant anxiety. The noise from outside sources can be truly be overwhelming, especially for middle schoolers.

​To support your child, please make sure they are allowed to have quiet time each day away from digital media, homework and other distractions. Allowing children a space and time to "be bored" and let their minds wander promotes creativity, play based learning and calmness. The opportunity to think about and reflect on our actions is something we all could benefit from.

Parent Conferences: We had a very successful first parent conference session on Thursday that was attended by many parents and guardians. If you did not get the chance to visit teachers or sign up for conferences, there is one more session for parents this Thursday in the Middle School Hall from 5:00-8:00pm. Spaces are limited so please sign up soon using the links provided in my last blog post. Students are welcome to attend. We look forward to seeing you there.

Free Dress on Friday: On Friday October 30th we will have a free dress day for students. Since this free dress day falls very close to Halloween students will be allowed to wear costumes to school provided they are not offensive or too scary. Of course, costumes must also be conservative and appropriately cover students' bodies. Our first disco of the year will also take place on Friday from 6-8pm. Students will be allowed to wear their costumes to disco.

Other Upcoming events:

School Photos- Monday October 26th during the school day- All students will have their school photos take on Monday. As always, students must wear their normal school uniform. Information about purchasing individual photos will be delivered home soon.

Spirit Week- October 26-30- Students will compete against each other during lunch time competitions earning points for their house with each win.

​Tutor evening -rescheduledOctober 26th- 3:15-4:00- Room 1-14 at the high school. This event is designed to help outside English tutors better understand the IB Middle Years Program and learn how to best support English Learners at ISS. Please contact Sandra Guillotel (sclarkguillotel@iss.edu.sg) if you have any questions.

Week Without Walls (formerly Activity Week) information meeting- November 4th- 3:30-4:15pm- Room 5. Believe it or not, it is time to start organising our Week Without Walls trips which will take place from February 15-19th, 2016. You will be receiving information from the school about the costs and itinerary for each trip in the coming weeks. We encourage all parents and guardians to join us on the 4th to learn more about your child's trip from our grade level leaders.

International Day- #isspride was on display on International Day! Thanks to all of our families who joined us at International Day on Friday. We had great weather and a wonderful crowd for the event. Students and parents enjoyed activities throughout the day including the Parade of Nations, Intercultural Workshops, Arts Performances and of course, the Potluck. Thanks to Mr. Taylor, Mr. Lebon and Ms. Chin for their hard work in organising the Middle School portions of the event. We hope you all enjoyed the new format of our combined International Day. We welcome input from parents to help us improve and enhance this community celebration for next year and beyond.

​Interim Reports- Reports for the first 9 weeks were generated and placed in your ManageBac account. The purpose of these reports is give parents an indication of their child's progress as they "settle in" to the new school year. To access these reports, please log in to your ManageBac parent account, click on the "Academics" page and then click on the "Reports" tab. Parent Teacher Conferences-We encourage all parents and guardians to attend on of our Parent Conference afternoons/evenings to chat with their child's teachers, learn a little more about their progress and our school program. All parents must sign up with individual teachers by using an online form. Please read the attached information about parent conferences to learn more by clicking on the link below.

Important Dates:​October School Holiday- October 10th- October 20thStudents Return to School- October 21stParent Conferences- October 22nd (3-6pm) and October 29th (5-8pm)- Middle School HallWeek Without Walls (formerly Activity Week) Information Afternoon- November 4th, 3:30pm- Middle School Hall

As you know, we had to cancel our Swim Gala on Friday due to the ongoing haze. I have been very impressed with the positive attitude shown by all students who were clearly disappointed that the event didn't take place. I also would like to recognise the hard work of our PE teacher, Ms. Katie Allan and the rest of our planning team who spent many hours putting together another excellent Swim Gala Programme. We are in contact with different venues around Singapore to find out if we can reschedule this important community event. Once I have more information, I'll share it with you on this blog.

International Day

I have reposted the schedule for International Day below. Please join us on Friday and don't forget to contact Serene Chin at serenechin@iss.edu.sg or the PTA at PTA@iss.edu.sg if you are able to bring in a dish or if you are interested in helping with the event.

The timetable for the day is as follows:

8:00-8:50: Students arrive at school as normal and go to their homerooms. Students should come to school wearing clothes that reflect their cultural identity.

9:00- 9:30 Students join their nationality groups in preparation for the Parade of Nations

9:30- 10:20: Parade of Nations. Parents are warmly invited to attend and can sit in a large tent on the field to see the Parade

10:30-10:50 - Morning Snack Break

11:00-12:00 - Students perform in and visit Art Performance/Workshops conducted by Middle and High School students.

12:15-1:15 MS Classes visit Intercultural Workshops run by High School Students.

12:15-1:15 - Parents setting up International Food Fair

1:20-2:15 - International Food Fair: Elementary Students on the Basketball Court. Middle and High School Students on the Field

2:25 - Dismissal with parents or buses. Parents please make sure that you have informed your child's teacher how they will be going home.

Please refer to my previous post to find out more about our International Day.

Calling all runners and walkers!

This coming November 7th, interested MS students, parents, and teachers will be able to participate in the 2015 Urgent Run. This run is a World Toilet Organisation global event to draw attention to the urgent call for action to end the sanitation crisis.

World Toilet Organisation (WTO) is a global non-profit working towards a world with a clean, safe toilet and sanitation for everyone, everywhere, at all times. Their mission is to continue to build the global sanitation movement through collaborative action that inspires and drives demand for sanitation, and provides innovative solutions to achieve sustainable sanitation for all.

Signups and payments ($18 children & $40 adults) will need to be completed by October 7th. All payments must be made by this date to confirm your registration. T-shirts will be picked up by Mr. Ballinger and distributed at the Middle School after October 24th. This year, we hope to make an even bigger ‘stink’ for sanitation!

ABOUT THE RUNDate: 7 November 2015, SaturdayTime: 8am to 12pm Location: Angsana Green, East Coast Park ( near East Coast Lagoon Food Village) Parking: Car parks E2 and E3 along East Coast Park Service Road